Betoken
by Just Another Soul
Summary: After being bedridden due to her leg injuries, Shenhua isn't in the best of moods, so Rotton takes it upon himself to comfort her. Short one-shot, takes place after El Baile de la Muerte.


**Betoken**

Disclaimer: Black Lagoon and its characters © Rei Hiroe

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The ceiling fan rotated slowly as Shenhua leaned against the headboard and tilted her head back with an agitated sigh. To think, she had barely been out of the hospital for a week from the injury by the nun, only to get thrown back in due to Hotel Moscow and that stupid gun girl.

She was fortunate the bullets didn't go through any major arteries in her thighs, but they caused enough force upon impact to make the bones break and splinter through the tissue. She was in the hospital for several weeks. Surgery, healing, therapy.

She had gotten out yesterday, but it didn't mean she was completely healed. The pricks of pain that surged through her legs whenever she made the lightest movement was proof enough of that. She clenched the blanket.

This wouldn't have happened if she hadn't taken Two Hand's job in the first place. 6500 dollars a piece to find that maid. It was a tempting price in the beginning, but definitely not worth a shattered khukri and the holes in her legs. Shenhua moved her head forward and lifted the bed sheets, staring at her bandaged thighs. It was going to be a while before she could walk without feeling any pain. She snarled and lowered the sheets, twisting them in her fists and swearing in her native tongue through her teeth.

"Shenhua, I brought you lunch," Rotton said as he walked into the bedroom. He was holding several containers of Chinese food and a folding tray under his arm. Shenhua barely acknowledged his announcement and continued to curse. The man had a good guess as to why she was so angry.

"You're still upset."

"Fucking whore!" Shenhua hissed in English. Not fazed by the outburst, Rotton took the folding tray and set it in front of Shenhua before placing the food on top of it. He took out a pair of chopsticks and gestured for her to take them.

"Eat," he said, "It will help you take your mind off of it." She snatched the chopsticks out of his hand and pointed at him with the utensils.

"Easy for you to say. You not one who get shot. You think you can make me forget with lunch in bed. This just remind me of hospital," Shenhua said sourly, not at all fond of the memories.

"This isn't hospital food." Rotton began to open the containers. Shenhua sighed.

"Still not make me feel any better. It going to be long time before I can use legs right again."

"It still hurts when you move them?" Rotton asked.

"What you think? Am I in bed because I tired?"

"Mmm," he hummed. He sensed the sarcasm. He proceeded to open the containers before Shenhua tapped the top of his hands with the chopsticks.

"Stop it," she snapped, "Legs might be bad, but I not helpless." Rotton pulled his hands away.

"I was just... trying to be helpful."

"No need for something like that," she said, nearly ripping the containers apart. Rotton could sense the tensity in her words.

"I know, I know," he said evenly, "I only thought–"

"Thought what? Think I can't get my own food?" She raised her voice. "Ever since I go to hospital, think I so weak I can't open boxes?"

"No, I simply wanted to—"

"The pain not so bad," Shenhua muttered, more to herself than to Rotton. She made a movement to lift the tray up. "I well enough to walk to the kitchen." She suppressed a groan, a stinging sensation running up her thighs when she shifted her legs. Rotton took a hold of her tray.

"Shenhua, your legs still need more time to heal."

"I out of hospital, they are fine." The words weren't very convincing.

"You need to allow yourself to relax," Rotton said. Shenhua ignored the words.

"Let go, Rotton. I can carry it to kitchen myself." Another groan was suppressed, but Rotton clearly saw a pained wince as she made an attempt to bend her left leg. He shook his head.

"Shenhua..." The woman continued to shuffle. He took a deep breath.

"Shenhua..." he said more urgently. She still wasn't listening to him.

"_Shenhua._" Rotton's expression remained calm, his voice raising by a couple of decibels and firmly placing his hands on her shoulders. It was enough to gain her attention. He took a closer look at her face. Her eyes were vexed, but he noted there was almost a distant feeling within them before Shenhua lowered her gaze and turned away from him.

"Aiya," she said, placing her hand on her forehead. She was still pissed at Two Hand, but she was misplacing that anger, and Rotton was sadly being the recipient. She knew it wasn't right, but every time she was reminded of her injured legs, the bitterness arose.

Rotton tilted his head with a low hum. He looked at her bandaged legs, the sheets having slipped away when she was shuffling earlier. No words were exchanged, but he understood full well why Shenhua was acting this way. Her usual jovial disposition had disappeared for the past several weeks, not that Rotton could blame her.

The woman was a freelance assassin. She loved her chosen profession. She was happiest when she was running into the heat of battle and slicing foes to pieces, not being subdued to a bed and being reminded of a failed job with every sting of pain that ran through her body. It was upsetting, not only for her, but for her companions as well. Though Rotton and Sawyer did not admit it aloud, they were missing her trademark smile.

"Shenhua..." Rotton broke the silence and gently placed his hands back on top of her shoulders. He looked into her eyes, the black sunglasses obscuring his own from her view.

"I know this is difficult. It's a tedious process, but please listen. You're eager to get back into the field, I know, but you need to rest and give your body time to heal. I don't want my services to be seen as condescending or foolish, all I want to do is provide you with comfort and help you feel better." He gingerly caressed her shoulders and Shenhua's expression softened. Rotton may have been a little strange in the head, but at least his heart was in the right place.

"You're still angry at the Lagoon Company's gunman," Rotton suddenly blurted out. Shenhua's soft expression faded and she sneered. Unbelievable, the man's timing was impeccable. Despite this, Shenhua didn't move his hands away.

"You are not at all fond of her, correct?"

"Stupid bitch, next time I see her I going split her ass in four. My and Sawyer's weapon break, and I get shot in the legs. We never taking job with her again." Rotton nodded. That was enough confirmation for him.

"It was just not our night," he said, trying to ease her anger, "The gunslinger did get her arm shot as well."

"Mmm," Shenhua nodded and looked off to the side. She supposed that was a small consolation.

"And if it is any consolation..." Rotton added, "It's a likely possibility her fate will be sealed sometime in the near future." Shenhua arched an eyebrow in question at the sudden statement.

"What?"

"It is an assumption, but logically, she has a higher chance of coming across ill fortune than other citizens within this city," he said.

She gave him a quizzical look. What was he up to?

"It's not much of an exaggeration to think that she may overstep her boundaries one day. Many scenarios could arise. One of the most likely situations may involve too much consumption of hard liquor."

Shenhua said nothing, but her expression urged Rotton to go on. She wanted to know where he was going with this.

"Imagine this," he instructed smoothly, "One fateful night, when the moon is full, the city lights flicker and cloak the streets with a dim glow. The Lagoon woman staggers about with a half-empty bottle, heavily intoxicated. She's lost in the throes of time, gaps of events seemingly disappearing from her awareness, her consciousness and comprehension of the world around her fading into a dark void."

The Taiwanese woman played out the scene in her head. She could feel a small bundle of warmth welling up in her chest. Ah, she knew what he was up to now...

"Lewd, repulsive gangsters who are new to the city find themselves attracted to this woman. She curses and instigates an altercation before she draws her guns and fires. Most of the men are shot before they can draw their own weaponry, but a small number is still standing. The woman is quickly losing what little sense she had in her drunken stupor. The scenery becomes a myriad of muted blurs. Her temperament is poor, as always, and any skills related to making a better judgment become next to nonexistent."

Rotton noticed that Shenhua's eyes had a distant gleam. Satisfied, he continued.

"She shoots wildly and more of the men fall due to poor luck. However, it only takes one bullet to strike her down. In a final attempt to avenge himself and his fallen brethren, a gangster takes aim for her head... and misses, but the bullet ricochets off the wall and catches her in the back of the head."

Shenhua resisted the urge to cackle at the thought.

"She immediately drops to the ground, looking up at the dark sky as blood pours from her pierced skull..."

The warmth in Shenhua's chest had spread out to the rest of her body. She was listening intently, but she was not smiling. Not yet.

"With her final breath, she coughs and a spray of crimson comes forth. The sound of the death rattle echoes through the alleyways. She is now nothing more than a hollow corpse in the shady streets of Roanapur. Then Sawyer comes out of the shadows, and there is an airy bounce in her step as she trots over to the body. Without any hesitation, she starts her chainsaw and—"

Shenhua gripped the man's face in both of her hands and pressed her lips against his. Rotton's hands fumbled a bit before they slipped off her shoulders completely. Shenhua quickly pulled away.

"Rotton, that such a nice story!" she proclaimed cheerfully, "It make me feel much better." The man did his best to maintain his cool disposition. Indeed, he told her the story in the hopes that she would find amusement in the fictional downfall of Two Hand, but the kiss was unexpected. It had caught him off guard. Luckily, there was no trace of a blush on his cheeks and his cool appearance held strong.

But the light notion of shock soon passed as he took in her expression. There it was, that genuine, jovial smile that had been gone for so long. The only thing that was missing was a splatter of blood across her cheek and a khukri in her hand.

"Yes, it very good story." The smile still prominent and the pain in her legs momentarily forgotten, Shenhua leisurely leaned back and daintily picked up a morsel from the tray with her chopsticks.

"Tell it to me again."

**THE END**

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**A/N:** After the fiasco in _El Baile de la Muerte_, it may be a while before Shenhua ever works with Revy again, if ever. Needless to say, I think it's very obvious that regardless of the business end of their relationship, Shenhua harbors a lot of contempt for Revy. If Sawyer were to tell Shenhua she found the body of Revy in an alleyway and chopped her up, it's likely the only reason Shenhua would be upset over it is because Sawyer didn't invite her to watch.

Rotton's take on Revy – The main reason he told the story was so Shenhua would get a kick out of it. As I see it, his genuine opinion of Revy could go two ways. The first way is, he's indifferent to Revy and could care less, so he has no qualms about what happens to her in the story. The second way this could go is an "enemy of my friend is also my enemy" mentality.

The kiss – The reasons behind it can be interpreted any way you like. Romantic, friendly, humorous, whatever.

I hope the Revy fans didn't take this too seriously.

Cheers.


End file.
